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Among the plethora of strong shows that I’ve sadly had to throw to the wayside in the era of “prestige TV,” Billions may be the one that I’m most upset to have missed. The first season was engaging and genuinely daring in stretches, though that admittedly had much more to do with the fact that Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis lead the cast than anything else. There’s simply no denying how hypnotic the series can be when its cast, which also includes Breaking Bad alum David Costabile, Sons of Anarchy mainstay Maggie Siff, and Toby Leonard Moore of Daredevil, dig into the material and explore the more unseemly parts of their characters. Still, I’ve yet to watch a single episode of the second season, due to the deluge of new and returning series that each year brings nowadays.

Image via Showtime

It might be time for me to take a weekend and get reacquainted, however, as Showtime is preparing for the premiere of the show’s third season, which begins on March 25th. From the looks of the first full trailer for the new season, which you can take a look at right below, the central dynamic between corrupt and rich hedge-fund guru Axelrod (Lewis) and high-powered U.S. attorney Rhoades (Giamatti) seems to be essentially the same, even as the stakes of their rivalry have been elevated since I last caught up with Billions. Things between Rhoades’ wife, Wendy (Siff), and Axelrod seem to have developed quickly in particular.

Showtime has slowly been evolving out of its early stages of repetitive trash like Dexter to become a real contender with 2017 highlights including the undervalued SMILF and the amiable American remake of Shameless. To be fair, the real reason they have been elevated in my approximation is their support and distribution of David Lynch‘s magnificent Twin Peaks, but shows like SMILF still speak to ambitions that go beyond simply maintaining a strong audience between seasons. Billions is part of that push, as is the deeply problematic yet still exhilarating Homeland, and hopefully, I’ll be able to make time for whatever they have coming up next.

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